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Home || Recipes || Dips & Spreads || Homemade Salsa

Homemade Salsa

Jun 21, 2018 · 36 Comments

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Homemade Salsa is garden fresh, full of delicious ripe tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, jalapeños, lime juice and cilantro. This salsa recipe is perfect for dunking a tortilla chip into or for use in recipes. Learn how to make salsa and be stunned at how easy it is!

Fresh salsa made with ingredients from the garden makes this recipe easy and fast.

Homemade Salsa-for a crowd!

Yesterday morning, on a whim, I decided to make a batch of salsa in my Instant Pot and photograph the process so I could finally write a post about it.

I was up really late the night before writing a couple of seriously delicious posts. I was praying that my children would somehow, magically, sleep in. HA

If you follow me on Instagram, you already know that didn’t happen. And the fact that I was at the grocery store (looking like a hot mess) by 9:00 am.

This salsa recipe is made in the instant pot or on the stovetop.

We were at the store so early for a couple of reasons, first because I had no flour in the house after my major pie baking day the day before. Second, because homemade salsa in my Instant Pot NEEDED to happen.

My 3 kids and I (pretty sure we look like a zoo everywhere we go!) gathered up everything we needed from the store, we were ready to check out, literally walking to the registers and then the dreaded announcement came on..

The credit card system was down. CASH ONLY. I never, ever, EVER keep cash on me. I’m seriously curious, does anyone keep cash on them these days?

Anyway, long story short, I ended up walking across the street to an ATM, chalking up the $3.00 fee as worth it if I didn’t have to unload my groceries, drive home, come back and shop again.. with my 3 kids.

homemade salsa recipe is made with garden tomatoes.

Went back inside, paid with cash and promptly came home to get my salsa on! (Only to realize I forgot eggs…)

I came home, and thank you Instant Pot, I had delicious salsa 40 minutes later. That includes all of the prep work!!

One day, when I am no longer apartment living and have space for a garden, I’ll be able to just walk out back and gather the ingredients for this salsa!

I now have 5 beautiful jars of delicious homemade salsa that will probably be consumed a lot faster that it should be.

How to Make Salsa in the Instant Pot

This salsa recipe is a wonderful base for you to get your creative juices flowing with. The salsa is very mild. That is easily fixed by adding in more jalapeños and even leaving some seeds in if you like yours really spicy.

To cut down on the prep, I quartered everything and tossed them one at a time in my blender. I pulsed a few times to rounghly dice them.

The fresh tomatoes in the blender before bing pulsed.

I like using my blender or food processor not only because it saves SO much time, but because the juices actually make it into the salsa and not all over the counter.

After I pulsed the onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, and tomatoes, I tossed everything into the Instant Pot. (Find stove-top directions below.) I added a little vinegar, sugar and dried minced garlic.

the onion, green bell pepper, jalapenos, tomatoes, minced garlic, vinegar, sugar, and salt in the instant pot before pressure cooking.

You could definitely use fresh garlic, I just never have fresh garlic on hand and the minced garlic found in the spices isle at the grocery store works just as well, I think.

Give everything a good stir and then pressure cook on Manual HIGH for 20 minutes then quick release.

The salsa before pressure cooking in the instant pot.

I quick release with no problems (i.e. no volcanos ?) but with anything that is liquid and is pretty full in the pot there is always a slight chance that the dreaded volcano will happen.

Either quick release and be ready to use the back of a long spoon to close the vent or NPR to insure that nothing goes spewing. Again, I QR with no problems.

The fresh garden salsa after it has been cooked.

After the salsa has been pressure cooked, add in some tomato paste, lime juice and cilantro. (I am not a huge cilantro fan, so you won’t see any in the salsa pictures. ?)

Cool to room temperature and then store in the fridge!

How to Make Salsa on the Stove Top

Follow all of the steps above in the Instant Pot directions until it comes to pressure cooking.

Instead of pressure cooking, simmer on the stove top for an hour. Stir every 5 minutes or so to insure the salsa does not burn.

After the salsa has simmered for an hour, add in the tomato paste, lime juice and cilantro.

Fresh salsa made in a large batch on the stovetop or in the instant pot.

Homemade Salsa

(Printable Recipe Below)

Homemade Salsa is garden fresh, full of delicious ripe tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, jalapeños, lime juice and cilantro. This salsa recipe is perfect for dunking a tortilla chip into or for use in recipes. Learn how to make salsa and be stunned at how easy it is!

Ingredients

  • 1 large onion approx 2 cups
  • 2 large green bell peppers approx 2 cups
  • 4-8 jalapeños deseeded, depending on how spicy you want it!
  • 10 large tomatoes approx 3 3/4 cups
  • 2 tsp dried minced garlic can substitute 8 fresh cloves
  • 1/2 cup vinegar
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 3 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 2 tbsp lime juice
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • up to 1 bunch cilantro leaves torn up

Instructions

  1. Chop the onion, bell pepper, jalapeños and tomatoes one at a time in the blender or food processor. Alternatively, dice them by hand.
  2. Add the veggies, garlic, vinegar, sugar and salt to the Instant Pot.
  3. Pressure cook on Manual HIGH for 20 minutes. QR. *See note above in post about safely quick releasing the pressure.*
  4. Stir in the lime juice, tomato paste and cilantro.
  5. Ladle into jars and let the salsa cool to room temperature then store in the fridge.
  6. Stovetop Directions: Simmer the prepped veggies, vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt for 1 hour. Stir in the lime juice, tomato paste and cilantro. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate.

**If you prefer not to use tomato paste, you can simmer the salsa after pressure cooking to thicken it to your liking.

The salsa stays fresh in the fridge for 7-10 days.**

 Homemade Salsa is garden fresh, full of delicious ripe tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, jalapeños, lime juice and cilantro. This salsa recipe is perfect for dunking a tortilla chip into or for use in recipes. Learn how to make salsa and be stunned at how easy it is! |Cooking with Karli| #salsa #freshtomatoes #garden #instantpot #stovetop #easy #fast

Love Salsa? I think you’ll love these recipes!

Creamy Salsa Chicken Dip is a perfect addition to any party or serve over rice for a delicious, quick weeknight dinner.Creamy Salsa Chicken Dip
Seasoned chicken, sautéed veggies wrapped in a warm tortilla with cilantro and cheese.Chicken Fajitas
Cafe Rio Sweet Pork made in the Instant PotCafe Rio Sweet Pork

I hope you enjoyed this recipe and my website!! I’d LOVE to hear from you! Comment below and find me across all social media platforms!

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Fresh salsa made in a large batch on the stovetop or in the instant pot.

Homemade Salsa

Homemade Salsa is garden fresh, full of delicious ripe tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, jalapeños, lime juice and cilantro. This salsa recipe is perfect for dunking a tortilla chip into or for use in recipes. Learn how to make salsa and be stunned at how easy it is!
4.23 from 9 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Spreads and Dips
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 8 cups
Author: Karli Bitner

Ingredients

  • 1 large onion approx 2 cups
  • 2 large green bell peppers approx 2 cups
  • 4-8 jalapeños deseeded, depending on how spicy you want it!
  • 10 large tomatoes approx 3 3/4 cups
  • 2 tsp dried minced garlic can substitute 8 fresh cloves
  • 1/2 cup vinegar
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 3 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 2 tbsp lime juice
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • up to 1 bunch cilantro leaves torn up

Instructions

  • Chop the onion, bell pepper, jalapeños and tomatoes one at a time in the blender or food processor. Alternatively, dice them by hand.
  • Add the veggies, garlic, vinegar, sugar and salt to the Instant Pot.
  • Pressure cook on Manual HIGH for 20 minutes. QR. *See note above in post about safely quick releasing the pressure.*
  • Stir in the lime juice, tomato paste and cilantro.
  • Ladle into jars and let the salsa cool to room temperature then store in the fridge.
  • Stovetop Directions: Simmer the prepped veggies, vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt for 1 hour. Stir in the lime juice, tomato paste and cilantro. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate.
Tried this recipe?Mention @cookingwithkarli or tag #cookingwithkarli!

 

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ABOUT KARLI

This blog is a little glimpse into my kitchen, family & life. I hope you’ll giggle the days away with me and enjoy the craziness that goes on at my house. There isn’t ever a shortage of crazy. I can promise you that! Buckle up, keep your hand and legs inside at all times and enjoy the ride! Read more...

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Comments

  1. karlibitner says

    August 22, 2018 at 6:48 am

    Hi Candice- Great Question. I don’t know anyone that has and I haven’t ever gotten into canning (no storage space to keep anything that has been canned! One day, right?) I do know that with water bath canning the contents needs to be at a certain PH level in order for the food to be canned safely. I have not tested or measured the PH levels of this recipe, so I wouldn’t feel good about recommending this recipe for canning. Hope this helps explain things a bit!

  2. Amy says

    September 7, 2018 at 6:52 pm

    I’ve canned lots of salsa in a water bath! You definitely can, esp between the tomato acid, lime juice, and vinegar!!. Half Pints in 15 min boiling water, pints in 20, quarts in 25.

  3. karlibitner says

    September 7, 2018 at 9:02 pm

    Thanks Amy!

  4. Meg M says

    September 16, 2018 at 9:01 pm

    1 star
    Help! I made this tonight and it’s too acidic to eat. We made a double batch. The only thing we changed was to use half red tomatoes and half yellow tomatoes. Could that be the problem? What can I do to salvage it?

  5. karlibitner says

    September 16, 2018 at 9:02 pm

    Hi Meg! Using the yellow tomatoes may have been the problem. You’re the first to report the salsa being too acidic, so it seems that your tomatoes must have been extra acidic. A quick search says that adding a little bit of baking soda should neutralize the acidity. I would suggest trying a little bit in a small batch first. Another option would be to add a little more sugar to cut through the acidity. Hope this helps!

  6. William says

    September 30, 2018 at 6:55 am

    Can the salsa be frozen.

  7. karlibitner says

    September 30, 2018 at 2:00 pm

    Yes!

  8. William says

    September 30, 2018 at 2:08 pm

    Thanks Only 2 of us and do not want t to go to waste.

  9. Stacey T. says

    November 6, 2018 at 10:48 am

    The recipe says 10 large tomatoes or 3 and 3/4 cups. So what I did was measure out almost 4 cups (after chopping them up) and it only took about 6 small to medium tomatoes.
    The result was that my salsa didn’t look as red as your photo. My resulting taste was also a bit on the sweet side.
    So should I have used the 10 large tomatoes regardless of how many cups chopped up they equaled?

  10. karlibitner says

    November 6, 2018 at 11:26 am

    Hi Stacey- the 3 3/4 cups of tomatoes is the measurement after they have been blended. Is that how you measured yours? Some tomatoes are definitely sweeter by nature than others. You can add lemon or lime juice to cut through the sweetness and balance it. Hope this helps!

  11. Stacey T. says

    November 6, 2018 at 11:33 am

    I chopped the tomatoes more so than blended them. So maybe if I blended them smaller it would have taken closer to 10 large ones to equal almost 4 cups. OK thanks for replying, that helps.

  12. Trish Knight says

    September 15, 2019 at 9:58 am

    Ann, When you see a recipe, article or something else you would like to have for later on Facebook, click on the three dots in the upper right corner of post and click Save. I have saved many recipes and other postings using the Save button. I have made “collections” for each type of saved items; crafts, instant pot recipes, regular recipes, etc.

  13. Trish Knight says

    September 15, 2019 at 10:00 am

    Cindy Long: You can also purchase a “silicone chimney” for your pressure cooker on Amazon.

  14. Carmen M Luczak says

    January 3, 2020 at 5:57 am

    4 stars
    You can highlight and copy the recipe and paste it to wherever you want .

  15. Ann Jewkes says

    September 23, 2021 at 5:49 pm

    5 stars
    love love love this recipe

  16. Molly says

    October 17, 2021 at 9:42 am

    5 stars
    Oh goodness – this is a wonderful recipe. I am making it for the fifth time today. The first time I made it as written. Delicious, just a little thinner than what I wanted as I wanted to make some for the freezer. The next time I made it I ladled out some of the liquid and increased the tomato paste to a 6oz. can. It had the thickness I needed to freeze this.
    Our son and family moved from Indiana to Colorado and took a full freezer full of food. We thawed one (2 cup plastic containers) of these salsa to give it a try. IT. WAS. WONDERFUL!!! It stayed nice and thick once thawed, exactly what I was hoping for. The Instant Pot made this so easy,
    This will be the recipe I use every summer as we all loved it. I made mild, medium, hot and really hot by increasing or decreasing the amount and kind of peppers I used.
    Thank you Karli for sharing your recipe. I look forward to trying some of your other recipes, 😉

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This blog is a little glimpse into my kitchen, family & life. I hope you’ll giggle the days away with me and enjoy the craziness that goes on at my house. If you are Cookie obsessed like I am, check out my Sister Site, Cookies for Days.

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